After firing coach Dave Hakstol, the Kraken became the sixth of seven NHL teams with coaching vacancies to find their new man. Dan Bylsma, the Coachella Valley Firebirds head coach and the Seattle AHL affiliate, was promoted on Tuesday, becoming the second headman in franchise history. Coming off a surprise playoff season in their second-ever season, Seattle struggled last year, finishing with 81 points and sixth in the Pacific. The Kraken front office believes that Bylsma will be the answer to unlocking the young talent on the Seattle roster. He worked with many of them early, such as Shane Wright and Tye Kartye, when those players started their careers with Coachella.

This will be Bylsma’s third stint as the top man behind an NHL bench. In 2009, Bylsma took over the Pittsburgh Penguins after being promoted from their top AHL affiliate, the same jump he took with the Kraken. Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in his first year, their first since 1992, and the first of three Cup victories for Sidney Crosby. Bylsma stayed on for five more seasons, reaching the playoffs in all of them but only getting past the second round once. His tenure ended after the 2013-2014 season, but after taking a year hiatus, Bylsma took the Buffalo Sabers gig. He did not have as much success with the Sabers, and just two years later, Buffalo relieved him of his duties.

One of Bylsma’s first tasks will be fixing the offense for the Kraken. Seattle scored only 217 goals in the 2023-2024 season, the 11th most in the Western Conference. The team did not have a player score more than 30 goals on their roster, and Calder trophy winner Matty Beniers struggled in his sophomore season, lighting the lamp just 15 times in 77 games. In his two seasons with the Firebirds, Bylsma’s teams finished in the top three for goals scored in the league.

Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle will likely miss out on the game against the Colorado Avalanche due to a skate-cut injury. 

According to general manager Rob Francis, Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz stepped on a puck and lost his balance. His skate later came up and slashed Eberle, who suffered a cut near his quad muscle and went through an MRI to determine his injury’s severity.

“I think we dodged a bullet, But he’s going to be pretty sore tomorrow,” Francis said about the injury.

Coach Dave Hakstol stated that Eberle is day-to-day after suffering the cut on Wednesday. 

Prior to the injury, Eberle had one goal and three assists in 13 games for the Kraken this season.

The Kraken has since called up top prospects Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton from Coachella Valley of the AHL in place of Eberle. Wright is the Number 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and played eight games last season. Winterton, who was a third-round pick in 2021, will have his parents flown out to Toronto to see their son’s debut.

Skate blade cuts have been a recent topic of conversation in the hockey world. On October 2, former Pittsburgh Penguins player Adam Johnson died after his neck was cut by a skate blade during a game in England.

It wouldn’t make much sense for an NHL team to add a Grammy-winner and a former NFL running back, would it?

Well, the Seattle Kraken did just that; not to its lineup, though—to its ownership group: The team announced that Macklemore and Marshawn Lynch will be joining the minority investor group.

“I’d say that perhaps we didn’t need just two more investors, but these are investors who uniquely want to help us in the community and are excited about what we’re doing,” Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said.

Macklemore, also part owner of the MLS’ Seattle Sounders, said his efforts will include a focus on the music community and curating partnerships between the team and young musicians, as well as partnering on a charity golf tournament.

“I think bringing music to Climate Pledge is the big one and helping facilitate with local artists,” he said. “There’s so many small micro venues in areas that people can perform at Climate Pledge outside of just Climate Pledge as an arena itself. I think that the Kraken have been really open and excited about bringing in local talent. So I think that that’s one way. I think the other way is just making sure that we’re exposing all people to the game.”

Beloved by the fans, Lynch played for the Seahawks from 2010-15 and then again in 2019. He also is old hand in sports ownership, as he’s invested in the USL Championship’s Oakland Roots Soccer Club.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of things, but this is something I never would have imagined,” Lynch said in a statement. “As a young hyena I always dreamed of playing on a professional team but owning one is something special. As I look back on some of my accomplishments—I retired before I was 30 and now being an owner of a professional club at the age of 35—I’m going to continue to count my blessings. Being a part of the Seattle Kraken is something big for me and it gives me another chance to get a ring after helping bring the first one to the city.”